Jakarta

John Navid

Born in Binjai (Indonesia). Studied percussion in the year 2000 and graduated from Jakarta Art Institute in 2007. Joined the band “White Shoes & the Couples Company” as a drummer and percussionist in 2003 until today. The band has been touring in several festivals abroad and made a few albums and a few soundtracks for Indonesian movies. Started to get interested in photography in 2008 when the band was going on a tour in the U.S. during the “SXSW” festival. Has been a contributor for several online magazines based in Jakarta and have participated in several photo and art exhibitions. Currently is living in Jakarta, teaching drum in German School Jakarta.

Indra Perkasa

Indra Perkasa has started his musical journey since middle school at the age of 12, when he joined the Mandarava Corps Marching Band as a baritone horn player and he has never left music since then. He started his music studies at Institut Musik Daya Indonesia (IMDI) in 2001 and graduated in 2006 majoring in double bass.

Having found his roots in jazz music, he has been the bass player of Tomorrow People Ensemble since its founding in 2005. A year after he graduated from IMDI, he continued his study concentrating in film scoring at UCLA Extension (Los Angeles), where he got to learn from various notable film composers such as Thom Sharp, Robert Drasnin, Richard Marvin, Craig Stuart Garfinkle.

Indra has performed and recorded with numerous musicians, including: Tomorrow People Ensemble, Tika & Wrong is the New Right, Aksan Sjuman & the Committee of the Fest, Tjut Nyak Deviana Daudjah Trio, Rieka Roslan, Anda Perdana, Bonita, Mian Tiara, Indra Lesmana, Jamie Aditya, Andien, BeatBop Project, Nikita Dompas & His Fellow Musicians, Titi Sjuman Folkjazz Project, Indra Aziz, Opustre Big Band, and many more.

Indra has worked as an arranger and music director for various projects, including: “Aransemen Ulang Lagu Orisinil Dari Film Tiga Dara,” “My Little Pony – Rainbow Rocks” Musical, “One Fine Christmas with Monita Tahalea,” Jazz Buzz Salihara with Indra Perkasa & Gadgadasvara Ensemble. As a producer/arranger, Indra has produced albums and songs such as “Dari Balik Jendela” by Monita Tahalea and “Hiruplah Hidup” by Ananda Badudu. As a film scorer, Indra Perkasa has worked on several feature films, such as Tabula Rasa (2014), Labuan Hati (2017), Banda the Dark Forgotten Trail (2017), Lima (2018), The Returning (2018), Semesta (2018), 6.9 Detik (2019), Mudik (2019), and Bebas (2019). Indra currently works actively as a film composer and music arranger, as a bass player for Tomorrow People Ensemble and Monita Tahalea, and teaches film scoring at Sjuman School of Music.

Concept

Invisible Comfort is part of the digital project Sound of X, an initiative highlighting video soundscapes created by artists and musicians. Using sounds, noises and acoustics as the basis for their urban re-imaginations, artists and musicians explore their sonic environment to propose a unique way to reconnect with the cities and spaces we live in, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced people all over the world into isolation.

When people from all around Indonesia try to move and live in Jakarta, we are almost certain that they do it not for the perfect weather and the traffic, but rather to try their luck at making a fortune in this crowded city that is yet full of opportunity.

For most people, living in a big city is all about work.  This makes it hard for them to escape routine, which in turn leads them to forget about the comfort in everyday life.

While working on this project, Indra Perkasa and John Navid travelled around all the corners of Jakarta, in search of the lost comfort. One thing that they discovered is that most comfort, which they used to know in the past are actually still there, hidden in plain sight. You may not always see it coming, but you can still hear it among the crowd, between the routines.

Sound of X was initiated by the Goethe-Institut as an international, digital project before the coronavirus crisis struck. In its first phase, artists from Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand were invited to capture their hometown in a short video, without words, solely based on sounds, and local acoustics that are condensed into a musical work.

The resulting video soundscapes address diverse urban and cultural identities, across different localities in regional and global contexts, each performing its own sonic complexity and perspective on their urban environment.

In times of isolation, social distancing and severe travel restrictions, Sound of X offers a unique way to explore distant places through artistic contributions.